


The Honor of the Horde

by EmperorNorton150



Series: Catra's Coup [10]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Battle, Diplomacy, Loyalty, Not Canon Compliant, War, what does the Horde believe in?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:35:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29305857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmperorNorton150/pseuds/EmperorNorton150
Summary: When an invasion turns into an disaster, it's up to Lonnie to try and keep the Horde strike force alive. Meanwhile, Catra must make some unpleasant choices if she wants to salvage victory from defeat.
Relationships: Catra & Lonnie (She-Ra), Catra & Mermista (She-Ra)
Series: Catra's Coup [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1805098
Comments: 18
Kudos: 26





	The Honor of the Horde

The sky was burning. Rippling sheets of red and yellow and blue flames lashed back and forth across the dome of the night. Twisting tendrils of smoke curled up from the jungle to fan across the display, marking where munitions and laser-bursts had kindled the foliage. High above, the contrails of rockets arched back and forth, while parachute flares floated just above the tree-tops, igniting with a cheerful _pop-pop-pop_. Flashes of light flickered in the distance as laser-fire leapt back and forth, intermixed with the crackle of gunfire, the _buzz_ of shock-sticks, and the never-ceasing _hissss_ of the Snake-Men warriors, hidden all around them. It was horrifying. It was beautiful. It was spectacular.

Unfortunately, Horde Trooper First Class Andros was in no position to appreciate it. As artillery _boomed_ somewhere in the distance, he dug himself deeper into the hollow beneath the fallen log and tried to be as quiet as possible. Somewhere, he was sure, someone was giving orders to do something. That’s how it worked in the Horde. But all he was interested in now was staying in his hole until it was safe. Jet pods screaming, a Horde flyer swept by overhead, raining down fire on enemy positions. A missile battery opened fire, and it exploded in a rain of shrapnel. Then—a whistle blew, long and loud and shrill. A new series of flares shot up and burst overhead, casting a pallid yellow gleam upon the chaos below. _The retreat signal!_ Andros hesitated, torn. Retreating would mean getting out of his nice, safe hole. But if he didn’t retreat and everybody else did, them he’d be all alone out here. With _them_. That settled it. Sliding on his belly, he crawled out from under the tree trunk, then dashed into the forest.

It was pitch-black underneath the jungle canopy, broken only by the dull gleam of the fires in the distance. Vines and leaves slapped him in the face, but Andros kept running, ducking and dodging in case anyone saw him. He could hear the crashing sounds of other people running all around him, that endless _hissss_ in the darkness, the occasional _skree_ of sword clashing against sword. The retreat signal sounded again and again—and then all of a sudden, he was out, crashing through the leafy barrier onto the open beach. Hundreds of other Horde troops were pouring out of the jungle and onto the sand, as far as the eye could see.

“Hey! You over there—report!” Andros jumped as a girl stalked towards him, her face a muddle of shadows from the moonlight. Then he recognized her and snapped to attention. 

“Sir! Trooper First Class Andros, Seventh Company, Third Battalion, 24th Light Infantry Brigade!” Force Captain Lonnie waved him down impatiently.

“Yeah, yeah. What _happened_ to you guys?”

“We were advancing on the objective in phalanx formation, we’d just passed the first waypoint and were preparing to begin the ascent when—they just came out of nowhere sir! They were everywhere!” He shuddered, remembering the hysteria that had ripped through their ranks as swarms of Snake-Men had hit their column from all sides, whipping through their defensive perimeter before they had time to react. “Lieutenant Corvus said to stand our ground but then I lost track of him and I couldn’t find the command post and, and—” Lonnie’s scowl unbent a fraction, and she patted his shoulder.

“Alright, that’s enough. Go find your unit.”

“Yes sir!” Andros saluted, and ran off to find somewhere else to hide.

“ _’Why don’t you take command of the expedition Lonnie?’ ‘It’ll be good experience Lonnie.’ ‘You’ll earn fame and glory Lonnie’_. Bah! This’ll teach me to listen to Catra again.” The Force Captain muttered to herself, staring out over the disaster that the invasion was already becoming. By now, her advance guard should have already established a forward perimeter two leagues inland, and her main force should be smoothly rolling inland to link up with them and prepare for the advance on Pythona. Instead, the Snake-Men had ripped her vanguard to pieces and the rest of the expeditionary army—she grimaced. Piles of crates and barrels lay scattered across the beach, with supply troops crawling over them trying to find order in the chaos. Soldiers retreating from the debacle inland were mixed in with troops disembarking from the transports, creating a traffic jam that was making it impossible to unload anything else. Scattered amongst the confusion were artillery pits, where batteries of rocket launchers and cannons crouched like primitive idols, the crawling forms of their crews servicing them. Barges and supply ships lay beached on the shore, cranes working frantically to offload bots and tanks. Offshore, a pair of cruisers circled, salvoing occasional volleys of shells overhead.

“Sir?” asked one of her aides, and she shook her head. Time for recriminations later.

“Ok, listen up! Those Snake-Men are going to be comin’ out of the woods any minute now, and if we’re not ready then they’ll smash us flat. Force Captain Blast! Get those idiots” she waved as the milling mass of soldiers still trickling out of the jungle “organized and throw up a defensive line at the edge of the beach. Buy me some time.”

“As you command sir!” he bellowed, and stormed off, already shouting orders. She turned to Force Captain Rogelio.

“Ro’, I need you to take, hmm, the seventh assault group and the Fifth Battalion. Circle around _that_ way, and hit them in their left flank.” He growled a question, his tail lashing. Lonnie nodded.

“I know, I know, but I don’t need you to win. I need you to confuse them enough that they pull back and give us some maneuvering room. Can you do that?” He grinned, razor-sharp teeth flashing in the moonlight. 

“Kyle…...” she scratched her head, deep in thought, while he stood by warily. “…..go guard the boats. Make sure…...nobody steals them.”

“Got it!”

They got the frontline organized just in time—troops were still frantically digging trenches and bringing up equipment when the front wave of Snake-Men burst out of the tree line, howling like banshees. Swords unsheathed, they sprinted across the open ground towards the sprawling Horde encampments, pushing through the hail of laser-fire and explosives with casual contempt for their casualties. Then they were in amidst the thin line of defenses, leaping down into the trench, slashing with blades and hurling bombs, trying to rip through with raw ferocity alone. This was the worst kind of battle for the Horde, a confused muddle of hand-to-hand combat in the dark, where superior firepower and technology meant nothing. The line bowed, the line bent—but it did not break. Reptilian fury was met with Horde discipline, as squads broke apart into combat teams, fighting back-to-back with shock sticks and quarterstaffs, or laying down barrages of laser-fire. Lonnie organized phalanxes of bots and tanks, rushing them forward to reinforce weak points as they were unloaded, pushing back the enemy with their awesome firepower.

 _Catra_ could _see_ the ebb and flow of battle, could tell through some sixth sense _exactly_ when the enemy was on the verge of breaking or where the best spot for a breakthrough was. Lonnie had to get by with pure stubbornness, the grim refusal to ever give up that had let her survive childhood in the Horde. Iron-faced, she fed her troops into the line, unwilling to give an inch. A soldier of the Horde did _not_ abandon her comrades in battle. A Force Captain of the Horde did _not_ abandon her troops. That was the lesson hammered into them over a lifetime of training, and that was what gave them the strength to stand shoulder-to-shoulder and take whatever the enemy threw at them. 

The battle had swayed back and forth for nearly an hour, neither side able to gain a decisive advantage, when there was a roar from the jungle.

“ _In the Name of the Horde! Catra and the Horde!_ ” Rogelio’s troops threw themselves against the Snake-Men’s flank, shattering their rearguard and pouring enfilading fire into their formations. There weren’t that many of them, but they took the enemy totally by surprise. Baffled, shocked, and unsure of how many more Horde regiments might come out of nowhere, the Snake-men pulled back into the jungle under cover of an artillery barrage.

The Horde lines erupted in cheers, and even Lonnie cracked a small smile. She opened her mouth to give orders—pulling back Rogelio’s troops, sending forward bots to press the pursuit, reorganizing the main force—when there was a titanic explosion from behind her. She spun, and her eyes widened.

Some…...thing……something _massive_ had erupted from the dark green waters of the Sea of Sighs. Green and silver, studded with fins and mysterious appendages, eyes glowing red; the (creature? robot?) had wrapped its serpentine body around the cruiser _Vicious_ and squeezed, igniting the magazine and fuel cells. As Horde sailors leapt from her burning decks, the monster, seemingly untroubled by the conflagration, turned and lashed out with its tail, smashing her sister ship _Despair_ along the port beam. Even as Lonnie watched, she began to sink, klaxons wailing an ‘abandon-ship’ order. On the shore, several Horde artillery batteries swiveled and opened fire, pelting the beast with explosive shells, rockets, and laser-bursts. It responded, opening its mouth and loosing a blast of electric fire that swept along the shore, detonating munitions, lighting piles of supplies on fire, blasting open bots…...and leaving their transports a pile of shattered, burning wreckage.

“It’s not my fault!” she heard a voice wail in the distance, as soldiers tried to flee inland. At that moment, there was a _hisss_ from the jungle depths, and the Snake-Men began pouring forward again. For a minute, watching their carefully-orchestrated attack plan collapse, Lonnie allowed herself to despair. Then she crushed the rogue emotion as ruthlessly as she’d crush any other foe. _This was the Horde. We never give up. We never surrender._

 _“_ Hold the line! Hold the line! You—stop that! Get back in formation _! Hold the stars-damned line!_ ” Lonnie paced up and down the beleaguered beachhead, lashing the Horde expeditionary force into shape with her voice. “That’s right, remember who we are! We never surrender! We never give up! Hold the line!” Slowly, the situation stabilized again, Horde troops flowing back into the frontline trenches. “Don’t worry, we just have to hold out until help arrives! Our Generalissimo won’t abandon us!” _At least, I hope she won’t._

* * *

Generalissimo Catra, Supreme Commander of the Horde, stared silently at the map table in the command center buried deep beneath the Fright Zone. There was no sign of the fury gripping her, except for the steady flicking of her tail and the depth to which her claws had dug into the tabletop. Behind her, computers and printers chattered away, while technicians and clerks bustled back and forth with tracker pads and piles of hardcopy. For all Catra paid them mind, the room might have been empty.

“Gosh, things sure could be going better” commented Force General Scorpia, peering worriedly at the swarms of red unit markers hemming in the little Horde flags.

“ _Thank_ _you_ for your insight Scorpia. I hadn’t noticed” said Catra, holding onto her temper with both hands. This was turning into a genuine first-class disaster. The Kingdom of the Snake-Men occupied a large, tropical island to the south of the Horde’s territory, forming part of the border between the Sea of Sighs and the wider Etherian Ocean. King Hiss had been a nominal ally of the Horde during Hordak’s reign, but since the…...change in government…...he’d been increasingly belligerent, culminating in a series of attacks against Horde freighters and local supply procurers a few weeks ago. Catra couldn’t allow such a blatant challenge to stand, and it had seemed like an opportunity for an easy victory. But now….

“What’s the situation?” she asked her intelligence officer. He winced.

“They hit our force with a massive ambush almost immediately after landing Your Excellency. Force Captain Lonnie drove off the initial attacks but they’ve got her surrounded and have heavy artillery targeting the beachhead. The Force Captain reports that she’s been unable to secure a breakout, and that her troops have taken heavy casualties.” Catra nodded.

“And we can’t reinforce or retreat because of that monster they’ve got swimming around offshore.” She scowled. “Since when do the Snake-Men have sea serpents working for them anyways?”

“Oh, it’s not a sea serpent!” Entrapta yelled from off to the side where she’d been typing away at a terminal, ignoring the strategy meeting. “It sounds like a First Ones guardian bot that they’ve successfully reactivated, probably with an omnidirectional attack coordination system! I was working on that a similar project myself but it kept trying to kill me, with unfortunately impeded the data collection process….”

“ _First Ones_ ” Catra spat the world like a curse, tuning out whatever else the princess was saying. “I should have known.” She thought for a moment, tapping her claw against the table. “Someone told them we were coming.”

“Your Excellency?”

“The Snake-Men don’t have _that_ big an army. If they concentrated this many troops right _there_ , right where we were landing, it can only mean someone here leaked our plans. Force General Scorpia, investigate that if you would?” Scorpai clacked her pincers together and grinned.

“You got it boss.” Sometimes Catra had trouble imagining how Scorpia had survived so long in the Horde. Sometimes……she did not. She turned back to the map, glaring. She’d already ordered a reinforcement convoy to leave Octopus Cove, but that was at least three days away at flank speed. And she wasn’t exactly confident of her navy’s ability to defeat a First Ones robot. Could Lonnie hold out for that long? Or……almost unconsciously, her claw delicately traced a line along the map, detouring out into the Etherian Ocean, around Cape Ophidia, and then back into the Sea of Sighs…...on the other side of the Snake-Men’s island. If most of King Hiss’s troops were busy dealing with her initial invasion…...then her army could land unopposed, march overland, and occupy Pythona before they could do _anything_ about it. It would be a strategic masterstroke. And it would require leaving her expeditionary force to their fate. And Lonnie, and Rogelio, and Kyle. _Shadow Weaver would have done it._

“I’m not Shadow Weaver” she muttered.

“What was that wildcat?”

“Nothing!” She sighed, and turned to one of the techs. “Get me a communications terminal set up immediately. I…...need to make a call.”

* * *

“Ugh, what do _you_ want?” The Princess of Salineas scowled out of the com screen. Catra smiled thinly, and inclined her head.

“Good day Your Highness. I hope this morning finds you well? As always, it is a _pleasure_ to speak to one of my peers and allies.”

“Just get to the chase kitty cat. I don’t, like, have time for you today.” Catra’s heterochromatic eyes flashed, but she took a deep breath, and explained the situation. When she was done, Mermista raised an eyebrow. “Uhhh, so that totally sucks for you, but why exactly are you telling _me_ about this?”

“My reinforcements are still three days away. You, on the other hand, could be there within a couple of hours….” 

“Oh no. Uh-uh. I’m not getting involved in your stupid little war, ok? Not happening.”

“Under the terms of the Horde-Alliance Peace Treaty your kingdom pledged friendship and mutual assistance with the Horde. It could be…...argued that this falls under the purview of that clause.”

“That is totally not a valid interpretation of the treaty. Just because we’re not _shooting_ at each doesn’t mean I have to help you shoot other people. Duh!” Catra _tisked_ , flicking her ears sadly.

“What a shame, because—to be honest—I’m not sure if the Horde’s strong enough to defeat that First Ones machine. I was hoping that maybe a powerful Princess would be able to help but if you don’t think you’re good enough to take it on—” Mermista rolled her eyes.

“It’s _Adora_ who’s silly enough to think she has to save everyone all the time, not me, _remember_? Deal with your own problem loser.” Catra shook her head.

“Your Highness, I don’t understand your reluctance to aid a friend and ally. What have I ever done to you?”

“Uh, so you guys are _literally_ called the Evil Horde—”

“Only on official documents! Nobody _really_ calls it that anymore!”

“You attacked my city—”

“Oh, _come on_ , that was years ago!”

“You stole my boyfriend—”

“Borrowed! Borrowed! I gave him back!”

“You won’t, like, recognize the territorial integrity of my kingdom—”

“Fine” snapped Catra. “I’ll……I’ll cede Iron Fist—I mean, I’ll cede Whale Tale Island.” Mermista stared.

“What?”

“Are you _deaf?_ I said: I’ll recognize your control over that stupid island you want so bad if you do something about that robot.”

“Hmmm” Mermista frowned, her fingers tapping the side of her trident. Catra stood motionless under her gimlet gaze, well-used to hiding her emotions under scrutiny. “Like, why do you care so much about this anyway?”

“ _I have an entire division of troops trapped there you idiot!”_ shouted Catra. It had been a very long day. “I am _not_ going to abandon them! Now, are you going to help me or not?”

“Sure, I guess so. You don’t have to yell.” A mix of relief and shame flooded Catra, and her knees went weak.

“Thank you” she said quietly, bowing her head. Mermista shifted uncomfortably.

“Whatever. It’s not a big deal. I’m only doing it so you’ll stop trying to steal my islands. And, um…...you can still have access to those fishing grounds. As long as you, like, tell me about it first. And you’re not too greedy.” Catra blinked, and looked up.

“Thank you” she said again, more firmly this time.

“Don’t start thinking that we’re, like, friends now, ok?” muttered the ruler of Salineas, flushing. “I’m just trying to not be as big a jerk as you are. So, where exactly is your dumb expeditionary force or whatever trapped?”

* * *

Lonnie peered out over the earthen parapet, staring at the nearby jungle, now burned and blackened by fire and explosion. Around her, she could hear the shuffling and murmuring of Horde troops in the makeshift bastion, cleaning weapons or trying to get some sleep in the interlude between assaults. In the foxhole next to hers, Rogelio growled.

‘Yeah” she muttered. “They’ll be comin’ soon.” They’d survived the night—somehow—but things weren’t getting better. The serpent wouldn’t attack anyone who didn’t attack it or try to enter the water, but it was still lurking out in the bay, a continuous winding motion beneath the water, reminding them that they were trapped. The Snake-Men had soon learned, to their regret, that even pinned down and surrounded, the Etherian Horde was still the most potent fighting force on their planet. Lonnie’s troops had driven back their attacks, one after another, hammering them back under the cover of the forest with lockstep discipline and smoothly coordinated firepower. But by now…...munitions and supplies were starting to run low. Most of the bots and tanks had been disabled, and the artillery was running now on ammunition. The men were exhausted, and there weren’t enough rations. Worst of all, a lucky barrage of rockets had destroyed their transmission relay. They were totally cut off from the outside world. “I figure we can take—one, maybe two more waves before we go under.” She kept her voice low enough that the rest of her subordinates couldn’t hear. Rogelio snapped his teeth and snarled, waving a clawed hand.

“No” she replied. “That’s not an option. But……if they do break through, gather up as many of the troops as you can and try and escape down the beach. If you can make it into the jungle, you might be able to hide out until the relief gets here.” He nodded, then growled a question. She shook her head.

“A Force Captain stays with her men. Always. If you make it out……keep an eye on Kyle for me, ok?” Rogelio squeezed her shoulder. “Thanks. I owe you one.” In the distance, she could see movement through the tree-line, shadows shifting as the Snake-Men slithered up towards the frontline once again. One stepped out into the sunlight, his serpentine body swaying as he trotted forward. Silver armor gleamed, resplendent with emerald inlays and engraving. A curved sword hung at his waist. He held up a clawed hand.

“Soldiersss of the Horde!” he hissed. “I am Fang of the King Rattlor! You have foughttt long and well. Put down your armsss, and surrender. I pledge that you will not be harmed!” There was a murmur from the Horde trenches. Lonnie scowled.

“How dare you!” she shouted, before anyone could get any ideas. “You attack us, then expect us to betray our leader and comrades? Never! The Horde never surrenders! The Horde never gives up! And _definitely_ not to _traitors_ like you! _In the Name of the Horde!_ ” There was an answering roar from the rest of the soldiers.

_“In the Name of the Horde!”_ Rattlor’s tongue flicked furiously, and his tail lashed.

“Ssso be it” he hissed, and vanished from into the forest. There was an eruption of _hissing_ almost immediately, and the tramp of Snake-Men pushing froward through the foliage into position.

“It’s time” growled Lonnie. She gripped her shock stick, swinging her arms to get the kinks out. There was a rumble from behind her, and a _splashing_ sound, but she ignored it. All along the trench, Horde troops were stirring, loading laser rifles with energy cells or unholstering hand weapons. The last few batteries of artillery began firing, pocketing the far side of no-man’s-land with explosions. Sunlight glinted on a forest of spears and swords just behind the forest edge.

“Uhhh hey guys, do you see that?” asked Kyle. Lonnie turned to glare at him.

“Kyle, I’m kinda busy right now!” Then she saw what he was looking at. _Ships!_ A dozen ships had rounded the cape and had set sail for the beach.

“What the—those aren’t Horde ships!” she snapped. Blue and gold sails billowed over long, lean wooden decks as the warships cut smoothly through the water. Then she recognized their silhouettes from Enemy Unit Recognition Class. “That’s the Royal Salinean Navy! What are they doing here?” Rogelio and Kyle both shrugged.

It didn’t matter who they were, because the sea monster was already rushing towards them, red eyes gleaming. Its mouth opened, ready to blast the approaching fleet with fire—then a column of water slammed into its face. It roared, thrashing around to see what had attacked it, but more spikes of seawater were slamming into it now from every side, knocking it back and forth. It lashed its tail at the foremost galleon, but a long tendril whipped out of the ocean and grabbed it, dragging it back and slamming into the sea, where it spasmed, sending waves rolling in all directions. Lonnie watched, amazed, as a figure leapt from the deck of one of the ships, landing smoothly on the surface of the water. Despite the turmoil beneath her feet she balanced casually, seeming almost bored. 

“Ok, mermaid girl’s here too, sure, why not, that makes sense” grumbled Lonnie.

“Uh, sir?”

“Forget it” she sighed. As she watched, the creature broke free of its watery chains and dove towards Mermista, roaring defiance. The princess stood stock-still, waiting until it was almost on top of her. Then, with a single motion, she hurled her trident at its head. There was an explosion of circuitry and sparking electric light, and the beast fell beneath the waves again with a howl of distressed metal and ceramic. Destroyed, disabled, or fled—it was impossible to tell from the shore, but it vanished in a final flurry of bubbles. Lonnie snorted.

“Show-off. Alright. Rogelio! Find Force Captains Blast and Mantenna, tell them to start moving the reserves down to the waterfront. _Don’t_ open fire unless they shoot first.” Silence had fallen from the jungle, which suggested that the Snake-Men were just as confused as she was, but there was no point taking chances, and several of the galleons had already trimmed their sails and begun skimming in towards the beach. She’d feel a lot better with some troops in position if those mermaids tried anything—her eyes narrowed, catching sight of a familiar figure capering on the deck of the nearest ship. A voice drifted from across the water.

“Ahoy matey! It is I, the inimitable, the inestimable, the invincible _Sea Hawk_ , come once again to pluck my shipmates from darkest peril in the very nick of time! O! Whatever dangers confront ye, fear not, as _Sea Hawk_ shall soon be there! Hark, for—”

“I should have known” said Lonnie with a smile. “I should have known.”

* * *

“………not your fault, someone on the Command Council must have betrayed me. When I find out who I’m going to _crush_ them.” The sun shone down bright on the Salinean convoy, packed to the scuppers with evacuated Horde troops. They’d finally managed to jury-rig a transmitter, and Catra’s voice echoed out over the poop deck where Lonnie had set up her temporary command post. “For now, we’ll let them think they beat us. Pull back to the Fright Zone, lick our wounds—and then we’ll hit ‘em again in a month once they let their guard down.” 

“Understood boss.” She stretched, pointedly not looking behind her where Sea Hawk was bellowing a ballad while trying to teach Kyle how to juggle torches. If she didn’t know about it, she didn’t have to do anything about it. “Thanks for getting us out of there.”

“The Horde doesn’t leave people behind” said Catra flatly. “You know that.”

“Yeah” replied Lonnie. “But it’s nice to have a leader who knows that too.” 

**Author's Note:**

> \- This started out as me just wanting to write a war story and then it kind of accidentally turned into a follow-up to some of the earlier entries in this series as well as an exploration of what the members of the Horde actually believe in and fight for and how Catra's leadership has affected it. 
> 
> \- The Snake-Men are from the 1985 show.


End file.
